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Renault unveils new Clio with fresh design, frugal engines

The five-door Clio has rear door handles concealed close to the rear quarter lights to give it the sporty look of a three-door car.

Renault on Tuesday unveiled the latest generation of its Clio subcompact with a fresh design, fuel-efficient engines and a range of what the automaker said are affordable and innovative technologies.

The Clio is Renault's best-selling car in Europe. The new model be offered only as a five-door car and will go on sale later this year after a public debut at the Paris motor show in September.

The Clio will be offered with technologies such as Renault's R-Link integrated Internet-connected touchscreen tablet, a reversing camera and keyless entry.

The Clio will be the first Renault model to get a new 90-hp, three-cylinder, 900cc turbocharged gasoline engine that delivers the performance of a normally aspirated 1.4-liter powerplant, according to the automaker. It is coupled with a stop-start system.

The Clio's most frugal engine will be a 90-hp 1.5-liter diesel.

The Clio is the first production model styled by Renault design head Laurens van den Acker, who joined Renault from Mazda in 2009.

He said the styling was conceived "as a piece of sensuous sculpture which stimulates desire." The Clio has "no acute or aggressive angles, just voluptuous curves that make you want to go up to it and caress it," van den Acker said in a statement.

The new Clio has a lower ride height and wider tracks than the current model and a larger Renault badge on the grille.